Academics

From preschool through 5th grade, our teachers carefully craft curricula around the cognitive and social–emotional needs of their students. Students question, investigate, iterate, and explore. Challenge, creativity, and choice are woven into each unit.

What’s New

Catch up on the latest news about PBS by checking out our blog, watching some videos, or skimming our social media feeds. Whether you’re a current parent, a prospective family, or an alum, there’s something for you here!

Families

Whole-child learning is the baseline. Incorporate the whole family and the returns are even greater. We bring home and school together to support and fully maximize your child’s potential. In the process, the entire family benefits. 10 Things We Know and Love About PBS, #6

At Phillips Brooks School, we believe that authentic home-and-school partnerships are the surest path to maximizing each child’s potential. We count on our students’ families to be in strong alignment with our core values and mission and to support the work of the school by doing their part at home.

These are the key traits of a successful partnership:

Commitment to our core values, mission, and philosophy

Shared commitment to collaboration

Open, two-way communication

Mutual respect and trust

Common vision of goals to be reached

Participation in school events, volunteer opportunities, and philanthropic efforts

Our partnership starts when parents begin the application process. We encourage open communication throughout our process and provide opportunities for families to get a true understanding of who we are.

Once a family enrolls at PBS, the Admission Office pairs them with a welcome family to answer questions from a fellow-parent perspective and to help the new family to start building relationships and getting involved. Our Head of School also meets individually with each family in the fall of their first year to ensure smooth transitions.

Teachers and administrators engage all families in ways both formal (progress reports, conferences) and informal (conversations in the parking lot or at grade-level coffees) to share about their children and the life of the school. The school publishes a weekly newsletter, the Gazette, that keeps parents informed of upcoming events and shares stories each week from around campus.

The school also coordinates a series of parent education sessions throughout the year, aimed at increasing curricular visibility and helping parents learn how best to support their children’s learning. Sometimes organized around a theme, like our annual Math Days, and other times scheduled as needed or as the opportunity becomes available, these programs are open to all PBS parents. Usually, video of each session is made available after the session is completed, so that parents unavailable during the day can still benefit.

The Phillips Brooks School Association, run by an elected board of parents, coordinates volunteer assignments and helps to plan events for the community. Their mission is to foster a sense of community, to inform parents and members of the community of PBSA events, and to provide support for the PBS faculty and administrative staff. There are myriad ways to get involved that are flexible to accommodate different schedules, whether you’re available hours each week or hours each year. All parents and guardians of current PBS students are members of the PBSA.

Parents, faculty, staff, and administrators work as a team – we all want what is best for our students. Having a common language through parent education ensures that students are getting a consistent message.